Why did we choose our genre

We chose to make a film within the coming-of-age drama genre because it will allow us to access a target audience which is relatable to our own age range. Because a coming-of-age film is most likely to feature a character or characters which are going through their teenage years, our film is likely to be of interest to a film which has a teenage protagonist, as they will be able to relate to the things the character is going through. By aiming the film at a target audience which we are a part of, we will know what sort of things the teenagers would want to see in a film, which is a bonus which we would perhaps not have the advantage of if we were making a film which was aimed towards a more adult audience. 

However, by making a coming-of-age film, we also open the film up to adults who would be interesting in watching the film in order to reminisce about their own youth, for nostalgic purposes. This would not be a possibility if we were to make a film which was aimed at a lower age range - it is only by aiming the film at a teenager audience that we will be able to attract an audience of adults. An example of a cross over success from the teenage to adult market can be seen in coming-of-age drama Submarine. Featuring a story about a 15 year old, it would usually be expected to be a film enjoyed by just teenagers, but the messages within it are powerful enough to resonate with any age range who watch it. This is a reason as to why we chose to make a coming-of-age drama, because it has potential to be successful outside of our target audience.

A final reason as to choosing this genre comes down to the fact we have decided to act as an independent production company. This is the perfect sort of film to be produced by an independent company, because it contains realistic themes which will not be able to be properly portrayed if it were produced by a mainstream company, who would insist on using unrealistic settings, and actors who would be to recognisable for the characters they are playing to be realistic. Because our film will probably contain elements of a kitchen sink drama in order to achieve the verisimilitude which will be necessary for it to be regarded as a successful drama film.

Choosing this genre has also allowed for some versatility in the way in which we make the film, because it leaves lots of options open, unlike, for example, choosing to make a film within the genre of horror, which would mean we would be restricted to including certain key signifiers - in a drama, the key signifiers are specific to each film because of the vast range of ways in which a film can be taken. 

By George Martin